Financial peace

Many churches are feeling the pinch of our current economic recession.  Giving is down in many churches, and that trend is being carefully studied as these churches prepare their 2011 budget.  Several of the pastors in my area have already reported to me that they have been told they should not expect a salary increase for next year, and a few have been told their salary and/or benefit package will be reduced in 2011.  Some of these pastors have not had a salary increase in three or four years, and this is adding a lot of stress on them and their families.  In some cases these pastors are now looking for another place to serve.  Their current ministry simply cannot financially support their families.  In the cases of churches with fully-funded pastors, they will probably be looking to replace their departing pastor with a bivocational minister.

Pastors often know they should be teaching their congregation about stewardship principles, but many are reluctant to do so.  Some in the church will consider such teaching to be self-serving, especially if the pastor is facing a pay cut due to reduced giving in the church.  I think one way around that would be to teach stewardship in the context of helping people with their management of their own finances.  A number of churches in our area are using Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University to teach financial principles to their congregation and to the surrounding community.  I've not been through that series, but I am assuming that there would be at least a section that addresses tithing and giving to the local church.  Ramsey is a Christian and talks about the importance of giving to the church on his radio program.  This could serve as a great mid-week teaching series in a church and could be used to reach out to unchurched people as well who are wanting some help with their personal finances.

I just finished reading Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover and was very impressed.  It also made me sad in many ways as I realized how much I have squandered much of the income I've earned over the years.  I have to admit that I have not been a great financial manager, and as I read his book I finally realized that it doesn't take a genius to avoid debt and save money.  The principles he teaches in the book are very simple to implement.  The difficulty is in the discipline to live our those principles.

My wife and I will soon be married 44 years.  Most of the pain we've experienced in our relationship has been due to finances, and much of that pain has been caused by my poor stewardship of the finances we've had.  Virtually all of that could have been avoided if we had lived within our means, stayed out of debt, and systematically added to our savings.

Our story isn't much different than that of many other ministers and many sitting in our churches, and that story isn't going to change for a lot of people until someone begins to educate them in money management principles.  I see this as a great ministry for our churches.  Christ brings peace into people's lives when they commit their lives to Him, but for many Christians that does not include financial peace.  It's time we help change that.

My wife and I have committed to putting Ramsey's suggestions into practice, and every day we are making financial decisions based upon those principles.  It's going to be difficult some days because those principles are going to force us to make some painful decisions, but these are the decisions we must make if we want to take control of our finances.

Now, let me ask you some tough questions.  If you are struggling financially right now, is it really the fault of the recession or is it your fault for putting yourself in a difficult place financially?  I know it's easy to blame the recession, but sometimes downturns in the economy only reveal that things weren't healthy in the first place.  I recently spoke with a pastor who is having serious financial problems right now.  In addition to thousands of dollars of student debt he carries several thousand dollars more in credit card debt, plus a mortgage and a car payment.  Like many Americans, he was barely making it in good times; the recession just made it even worse.

What have you done to educate yourself financially?  Many of us go to school, earn advanced degrees, and can't balance a checkbook.  Do you know how long it will take to pay off your credit card and the total amount you will pay if you keep making the minimum payments?  If you don't, put down your Greek lexicon and look at your most recent statement.  Federal law now requires that the banks put that information on the statements.  If it's not on your statement, call your credit card company and ask them.  How does that piece of information make you feel?

How many in your congregation would benefit from having sound financial managment principles taught in your church?  Are there people in your community that needs help with their finances?  Could this be an effective outreach tool as well as a way to help people make better financial decisions?

Ministry is stressful enough without financial issues adding more stress on us.  When we struggle with any pressures in our lives it impacts our ministry.  The typical seminary graduate today leaves ministry within five years after graduating from seminary, and this is often due to financial issues.  Let's begin to educate ourselves and others and replace financial pressures with financial peace.